Eastern Ontario golfer John Williams still swinging at age 94
John Williams fell in love with golf near the start of the Great Depression and hasn’t let up since.
The Brockville native makes time to practise daily, not even pausing for his recent 94th birthday.
“If he were a basketball player he would be a gym rat,” said his friend and playing partner David Dargie.
“He's out on the practice range practising all the time and he's asking for tips. He's saying ‘Come and look at me, see what I'm doing here, I want to understand how I can get better.’"
“He doesn’t look 94, he doesn’t act 94,” added Heather Morgan.
11 holes-in-one
Williams said he’s been a member of the Brockville Country Club since 1930, when he started caddying while practising before and after work.
He has knocked down 11 holes-in-one over his career and still shoots less than his age when he hits the course with his regular partners.
“I never thought I could enjoy golf if I couldn't hit the ball as far as the rest of them," he said.
“I want to compete with these fellas. I get strokes and we play for money."
Williams said he’s had a tradition going back more than 70 years – you play with him, you bet 10 cents a stroke and 25 cents a hole.
"He's going to make 100 and he'll still be taking our quarters," said Doug Peacock, who was a golf pro for 30 years.
Later this month, Williams is playing in a fund-raising tournament against a high-profile player who’s 78 years younger than he is — 16-year-old Smiths Falls phenom Brooke Henderson.
